I switched from vegetarian to paleo based on Food and Western Disease, which had the best recommendations I could find at the time. I will take Dr. Linderberg’s recommendations as what “paleo” means. Oversimplifying:
The primary argument in favor of the ‘yay’ foods is nutrient density: you get a lot of micronutrients (and protein) per calorie. For instance, you want to consume about 100mg of calcium per MJ of energy you consume. Spinach has 1517mg calcium per MJ of energy. In general, vegetable have lots of micronutrients and not very many calories, so they have lots and lots of micronutrients per calorie.
There are two main arguments levied against ‘boo’ foods. First is that they tend to have low nutrient density. Bread (whole grain) only has 60mg of calcium per MJ of energy. Second, they contain antinutrients, ie. chemicals that bind to micronutrients so we can’t absorb them. Phytic acid is an example of an antinutrient. Nuts also contain phytic acid, which is why you’ll notice a recommendation against eating a lot of them.
The second approach is to copy examine.com’s answer, which deals specifically with weight loss, as opposed to general healthy eating.
>
Many diets, both fad and more long-term diets, do work. This is mainly because they reduce calories.
>
When people switch to a paleo-lithic (hunter-gatherer diet), the foods they switch to are naturally more filling (higher protein, fiber, water content) or have less calories for the size of the food eaten (due to water content; a pound of broccoli has less calories than a pound of grains).
>
When people switch to a ketosis diet (very low carb), the higher fat and protein levels naturally provide satiety and fill people up. Also, there is some evidence that obese people have a maladapted response to serotonin (of which carbohydrates aid in the synthesis of) and thus omitting carbohydrates omits cravings. People lose weight on a ketosis diet because they eat less on a day to day basis, and avoid large binges caused from carbohydrate cravings.
>
Diets that manipulate fasting (Intermittent Fasting, Alternate Day Fasting) may have some benefits on the ‘calories out’ side of things as prolonged fasting might increase heat expenditure, but the most significant means for weight loss here is that you control eating. It is much harder to overeat in 8 hours than it is in 16.
These are the arguments that have convinced me—first to do paleo, and then to completely abandon it and eat soylent. There’s also evidence that when populations switched from ancestral to western diets, their health declined. I think this is interesting evidence, and gives us a reason to test ancestral diets. I’m not aware of enough sufficiently good testing to make particularly good arguments for any diet.
I eat paleo whenever I can’t have soylent. This means “whatever Lindeberg said,” (outlined above). This is not antagonistic to carbohydrates. In fact, Lindeberg’s best know for studying the Kitavans, an ancestral population that gets 69% of its calories from carbs. If paleo means “whatever Lindeberg said,” then I’ve presented the strongest arguments from his book. This set of foods tends to be high in nutrients, low in energy, and devoid of antinutrients, so we get the nutrition we want in not too many calories.
However, if “paleo” means “replace carbohydrates with protein/fat,” I can’t help you. I no longer frequent the paleosphere and don’t care which definitions you map to which diets. I’ve presented you with the strongest arguments I know for the diet I associate with “paleo”. Sorry if that’s not the diet you were looking for.
I switched from vegetarian to paleo based on Food and Western Disease, which had the best recommendations I could find at the time. I will take Dr. Linderberg’s recommendations as what “paleo” means. Oversimplifying:
Yay: Lean meat, fish, veggies, root vegetables, fruit, some nuts. Drink water.
Boo: Grains, dairy, refined fats, sugar, beans.
The primary argument in favor of the ‘yay’ foods is nutrient density: you get a lot of micronutrients (and protein) per calorie. For instance, you want to consume about 100mg of calcium per MJ of energy you consume. Spinach has 1517mg calcium per MJ of energy. In general, vegetable have lots of micronutrients and not very many calories, so they have lots and lots of micronutrients per calorie.
There are two main arguments levied against ‘boo’ foods. First is that they tend to have low nutrient density. Bread (whole grain) only has 60mg of calcium per MJ of energy. Second, they contain antinutrients, ie. chemicals that bind to micronutrients so we can’t absorb them. Phytic acid is an example of an antinutrient. Nuts also contain phytic acid, which is why you’ll notice a recommendation against eating a lot of them.
The second approach is to copy examine.com’s answer, which deals specifically with weight loss, as opposed to general healthy eating.
> Many diets, both fad and more long-term diets, do work. This is mainly because they reduce calories. > When people switch to a paleo-lithic (hunter-gatherer diet), the foods they switch to are naturally more filling (higher protein, fiber, water content) or have less calories for the size of the food eaten (due to water content; a pound of broccoli has less calories than a pound of grains). > When people switch to a ketosis diet (very low carb), the higher fat and protein levels naturally provide satiety and fill people up. Also, there is some evidence that obese people have a maladapted response to serotonin (of which carbohydrates aid in the synthesis of) and thus omitting carbohydrates omits cravings. People lose weight on a ketosis diet because they eat less on a day to day basis, and avoid large binges caused from carbohydrate cravings. > Diets that manipulate fasting (Intermittent Fasting, Alternate Day Fasting) may have some benefits on the ‘calories out’ side of things as prolonged fasting might increase heat expenditure, but the most significant means for weight loss here is that you control eating. It is much harder to overeat in 8 hours than it is in 16.
These are the arguments that have convinced me—first to do paleo, and then to completely abandon it and eat soylent. There’s also evidence that when populations switched from ancestral to western diets, their health declined. I think this is interesting evidence, and gives us a reason to test ancestral diets. I’m not aware of enough sufficiently good testing to make particularly good arguments for any diet.
I eat paleo whenever I can’t have soylent. This means “whatever Lindeberg said,” (outlined above). This is not antagonistic to carbohydrates. In fact, Lindeberg’s best know for studying the Kitavans, an ancestral population that gets 69% of its calories from carbs. If paleo means “whatever Lindeberg said,” then I’ve presented the strongest arguments from his book. This set of foods tends to be high in nutrients, low in energy, and devoid of antinutrients, so we get the nutrition we want in not too many calories.
However, if “paleo” means “replace carbohydrates with protein/fat,” I can’t help you. I no longer frequent the paleosphere and don’t care which definitions you map to which diets. I’ve presented you with the strongest arguments I know for the diet I associate with “paleo”. Sorry if that’s not the diet you were looking for.